RB JD Price Willing & Able To Step Up For Notre Dame
It isn’t quite a Next Man Up scenario because JD Price has been up all year.
But, with Jeremiyah Love limited for at least the last month, Price has seen an uptick in his workload in the most important games of the season and he’s responded to the challenge.
The Notre Dame running back had double-digit carries in just one of the Irish’s first 10 games of the year.
He’s had at least that many in each of the most recent four, including both Playoff games.
"Just do what I've been doing all season, but try to do it even better,” Price said of his mindset knowing Love has been less than 100 percent with a knee injury.
"It's not pressure at all when another guy goes down. The best player on the offense goes down, but no pressure at all, just got to make the opportunity count.”
Love exited the Sugar Bowl against Georgia last week for good, leaving Price as the clear lead back.
“At that point, I realized the whole offense was on my back and was looking for me to to make a play, and I feel like I was in the moment to make that happen,” said Price,
Price didn’t put up huge numbers against the Bulldogs, finishing with 37 yards on 10 carries, but did have some key runs to keep the Irish offense on the field and move the ball at crucial times.
"I wish I rushed for 150 and I had two touchdowns,” Price said this weekend. “But whatever it takes to win. I feel like that last drive showed who we are as a program, as a culture, as an offense."
Price had a pair of carries for seven yards to start that final drive, helping put the Irish in position to draw Georgia offsides and maintain possession.
He then had a pair of short runs before quarterback Riley Leonard’s nine-yard run that ended with him flying through the air for a first down to essentially seal the win.
"If our quarterback's doing it, then why aren't you doing it,” Price said. “You have to put your body on the line and do things that not a lot of people are gonna do."
The longest college football season in history has been a grind physically and mentally, but Price feels it’s prepared the Irish for their next test, a College Football Semifinal matchup against Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday night.
"I feel like all season long we've had all types of defenses,” he said. “Whether they're twitchy, physical. We've seen it all. And Penn State is a really good defense, so we’ve got a challenge up ahead.
"But we just came from Georgia, all those guys on the line are going to The League. So we're prepared for the challenge."
The Irish also face a stiff test every day in practice..
"Our defense gives us a hard time as an offense and I think that really helps us going into the games,” he said. “Our defense is really good. Look what we did, against Georgia, against Indiana.
“It really helps us a lot. I think they're really similar to Penn's State, which helps us. We're prepared and we’ve just got to keep sharpening those little tools, whether it's pass protection, whether it's reads, and things like that.”
